Count Your Carbs
Tuesday, October 06, 2009By now you know that carbohydrates affect your blood glucose levels. No, you do not have to avoid all sweets and starches, and yes, you can have fruit, carrots, and even sugar (in limited amounts)! You need to have a good understanding of what foods have carbohydrates, pay attention to the amount or portion size, select the healthiest carbohydrate foods that offer some fiber, and distribute your “carbs” evenly throughout the day.
- Grains : bread, crackers, rice, cereals, pretzels, pasta
- Starchy Vegetables : potatoes, peas, corn, legumes
- Fruit and fruit juices
- Milk and yogurt
- Sweets and desserts
- Non-starchy vegetables: broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, carrots etc., contain small amount s of carbohydrates and tend to not affect blood glucose unless large quantities are consumed.
The fiber and water content render the small amount of carbohydrate in these foods less available to impact blood glucose.
What are the best carbohydrate choices?
Your goal is to eat carbohydrates in such a way that the foods cause a slow, steady release of glucose into your blood stream, so your body can effectively process it. Listed are some factors to keep in mind:
-Carbohydrate foods with fiber will slow digestion and release of glucose; Soluble fiber is particularly favored, such as oat bran, dried beans and peas, fruits, vegetables.
How much carbohydrate should I have?
Traditionally, diabetic diets are designed to start with this calorie distribution:
Protein: 15-25%
Based on your personal health, lifestyle and diet goals, you dietitian can calculate and educate you on the best diet design for you. Your dietitian will take into account your cholesterol levels, A1C, blood glucose patterns, kidney function, blood pressure, work and sleep habits, meal and snack patterns, and food likes and dislikes to create your unique meal plan.
Protein
|
15 %
|
15%
|
20 %
|
20 %
|
25 %
|
Carbohydrate
|
50 %
|
55%
|
50 %
|
45 %
|
40 %
|
Fat
|
35 %
|
30%
|
30 %
|
35 %
|
35%
|
Total
|
100 %
|
100%
|
100 %
|
100%
|
100%
|
The amount of carbohydrate for each person varies with their calorie goals, exercise levels, blood glucose levels and male/female. A healthy diabetic meal plan includes:
Women : 45-60 grams of carbohydrate per meal (3-4 carb choices/meal)
For snacks: 15-30 grams of carbohydrate per snack (1-2 carb choices/snack)
Here is a typical example:
What is Glycemic Load?
Sugar, sweets and most refined foods have high glycemic loads. Some surprises, such as cereals and potatoes, also have relatively higher GI-GL. However, when you eat these foods with milk containing protein or a potato with butter and steak and broccoli, the GI-GL changes. Also, the cooking method and food particle size can alter the values. So, GI-GL is a source of controversy because this method is not predictably consistent. It can shed light on why your blood glucose goes so high at times.
Understanding the Food Groups, or Exchange Lists
Using Carbohydrate “Choices” to Carb Count
The fruit group, the starch group, and the milk group all have 15 grams of carbohydrate per portion as described. So, if you are planning on having 45 grams of carbs at lunch, you could have one serving of milk, one serving of fruit and one serving of starch. Another 45 gram example for lunch - two starches (30 grams) and one fruit (15 grams).
1 carbohydrate choice=15 grams of carbohydrate
Samples of one carb choice or 15 grams of carbohydrates:
Using Carb Choice to Meal Plan - How This Works
Distribute the 13 carb choices evenly throughout the day. A choice can be a milk, a starch or a fruit. So, if you happen to not have enough fruit (15 grams) in a day, you can switch a fruit choice for a starch (15 grams) choice (hopefully it has fiber!).
Time
|
Meal
|
Carb Goal
|
Sample Menu
|
Breakfast
|
60 grams
(4 choices)
|
4 Carbohydrate Group
2 Starch
1 Fruit
1 Dairy
1 Protein
1 Fats
|
2 slices toast
¾ cup blueberries
Low sugar low fat yogurt
1 scrambled egg
1 tsp margarine
|
Lunch
|
60 grams (4 choices)
|
4 Carbohydrate Group
2 Starch
1 Fruit
1 Dairy
1 Non-starchy vegetable
3oz. Protein
1 Fats
|
2 slices bread
½ cup fruit cocktail
8 oz. milk
Raw carrots
¾ cup tuna
1 tsp. mayonnaise
|
Dinner
|
60 grams
(4 choices)
|
4 Carbohydrate Group
3+1 Starch
Fruit
Dairy
2 Non-starchy vegetable
4 oz. Protein
2 Fats
|
1 cup brown rice
½ cup peas
Salad with raw veggies
4 oz. grilled chicken
1 tsp. marg, 1 tbsp. salad dressing
|
Snack
|
15 grams
(1 choice)
|
1 Carbohydrate Group
1 Starch
Fruit
Dairy
Non-starchy vegetable
Protein
Fats
|
1 oz. pretzels
|
Suppose you are eating a frozen dinner meal, or a combination meal of fish, pasta and vegetables. You can use the food label to find the carbohydrate content. Find the total carbohydrates (in one serving or the entire meal - see sample nutrition label below). Fiber and sugars and sugar alcohols are sub-listed there also. If there is more than 5 grams of fiber, subtract half the fiber from the total carbohydrates. This is your amount of carb grams. Divide this number by 15 grams to find the number of carb choices you are using for this food item.
Counting Carb Grams
Counting Carb Choices
What is Carbohydrate Counting?
Reviewed by Clara Schneider MS, RD, RN, CDE, LDN - 05/13